site.btaVarna Municipality Issues First Demolition Orders for Illegal Houses in Baba Alino Area

The first of at least twelve demolition orders for multi-family houses in the Baba Alino area near Varna has already been issued, Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev told journalists here on Friday.

He said the first orders concern buildings constructed using four “tolerance certificates” that are suspected to be falsified, as they appear to refer to properties in completely different locations. Each building contains four apartments, all owned by the Forest Club company, controlled by businessman Oleg Nevsorov. Kotsev added that there are no other owners, so no third-party citizens are currently affected.

Tolerance certificates were introduced in 2001 to allow private and public buildings built before that year without the necessary documents for legalization to be tolerated by construction authorities.

Kotsev went on to say that the demolition orders can be appealed, meaning construction equipment will not move in immediately. The investor has two weeks to file an appeal with the Administrative Court. Kotsev stated that Varna Municipality must wait for the court procedure to finish, after which the company will have 60 days for voluntary demolition. If it fails to comply, the Municipality will remove the buildings at its own expense and secure costs by freezing company assets.

The Mayor expressed confidence the demolition orders will stand in court due to their legal precision, and noted that further orders are expected to continue at a pace of roughly a dozen per week, potentially including buildings already inhabited. Residents affected would need to seek compensation from the investor, not Varna Municipality, Kotsev stressed.

He also noted that infrastructure in the complex, including substations and water and power networks, falls under the responsibility of the Regional Directorate for National Construction Control, adding that investigations continue into how electricity and water supply were connected.

The Baba Alino case first came to public attention following investigations by the anti-corruption platform BIRD and reports from local activists, who raised concerns about extensive construction activity on forest land near the Golden Sands resort. The controversy centres on 104 residential buildings erected across approximately 10 hectares in the Baba Alino area, allegedly without valid permits and with the apparent failure - or possible complicity - of several institutions responsible for oversight.

According to information later confirmed by local and national authorities, the first signs of irregularities emerged in 2023, when the Regional Forestry Directorate detected illegal logging in the area. Throughout 2024 and 2025, inspections by Varna Municipality, the National Construction Control Directorate, forestry authorities, and police uncovered expanding construction works, illegal tree cutting, fenced-off forest land, and obstruction of inspections by private security guards. Officials reported that construction continued despite stop orders and ongoing checks. By early 2025, authorities had identified dozens of newly built or unfinished structures, including multi-storey buildings and supporting infrastructure. Media reports and political statements later linked the development to Ukrainian development group KYB.

The scandal escalated in May 2026, when a joint operation by police and municipal authorities found 104 buildings allegedly constructed - or under construction - without permits, along with unauthorized roads, sewerage systems, and transformer facilities. Twenty-nine workers from Ukraine and Moldova were detained during the raid. Varna Mayor Kotsev said that the illegal construction pre-dated his election and vowed that measures will be taken to ensure the demolition of the illegal buildings.